Genealogy, local history and historical research in New England and other interesting places. Nutfield was the former land grant ................................. that is now the towns of Londonderry, Derry and Windham, New Hampshire.

ERECTED BY THE MARTHA'S VINEYARD CHAPTER DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

THE LAND GIVEN FOR THIS PURPOSE BY CAPT. BENJAMIN COFFIN CROMWELL OF TISBURY

THE BOULDER BROUGHT FROM GAY HEAD A GIFT FROM THE NOW RESIDENT INDIANS

TABLET PURCHASED WITH DONATIONS FROM MAYHEW DESCENDANTS

More than twenty years ago my sister moved to Martha’s
Vineyard and married a lobsterman. At
the wedding her best friend, a Mayhew descendant, showed me the plaque in the
church that said it had been founded by Reverend Thomas Mayhew in the 1600s. I
have met many Mayhew descendants since then, including Katherine Mayhew, the
genealogy expert at the Martha’s Vineyard historical society. So, I was flabbergasted to learn that I was
also a descendant of the same Mayhew family! (And my sister was quite
impressed.)

Thomas Mayhew was baptized at Tisbury, England and left
with the Great Migration in 1631 to come to Massachusetts. He first settled in Medford, and then became
the governor of the island of Martha’s Vineyard. He led a settlement there in 1641 with his
son, Thomas, Jr. The Mayhews were very successful at establishing friendly
relations with the Wampanoags on the island.
Even when King Phillip’s war was raging in the rest of New England, the
Wampanoags remained allies with the settlers on Martha’s Vineyard.

The son, Reverend Thomas Mayhew was one of the most
successful Christian missionaries in New England. He established towns of praying Indians,
schools, and churches. In 1657 Reverend
Thomas Mayhew went to England for an appeal for missionary funds, and his ship
was never seen again and presumed lost.
The Elder Mayhew carried out his son’s ministries to the Wampanoag for
the next 25 years.

The grandson, John Mayhew, carried on the mission
after his grandfather’s death in 1682. He died early at age 37 in 1688. His wife was Elizabeth Hilliard of Hampton, New
Hampshire. Her aunt, Deborah (Parkhurst) Smith, is also my 10th
great grandmother. A great grandson, Experience Mayhew, became the first person to translate the Lords' prayer into the Wampanoag language. He published several books in the Wampanoag language (Psalms and the Gospel of John) and was a Congregational minister. He wrote the book Indian Converts in 1727 about his Experiences (no pun intended).

Generation 1: Matthew Mayhew, son of Thomas Mayhew and Alice Waterman, born
about 1550, died about 1614, married on 2 October in Tisbury, Wiltshire,
England to Alice Barter, daughter of Edward Barter and his wife, Edith.

Generation 2: Governor Thomas Mayhew, born about 1593 and died 25 March 1682
in Tisbury, on the island of Martha's Vineyard; married first about 1620 in
England to Abigail Parkhurst; married second about 1634 in England to Jane
Gallion. I am descended of two children, by Abigail - Thomas and Hannah who
married Thomas Daggett/Doggett.

Line A:

Generation 3: Reverend Thomas Mayhew born about 1620 in England, died about
November 1657 at sea on a voyage to England; married to Jane Unknown. Six
children. I am descended of two children, John (see below) and Jedediah Mayhew
who married Benjamin Smith.

Generation 4: Reverend John Mayhew, born about 1652 in Edgartown on the
island of Martha's Vineyard, died on 2 February 1689 in Chilmark, on the island
of Martha's Vineyard; married in 1672 at Tisbury to Elizabeth Hilliard, born 22
January 1654 in Hampton, New Hampshire, died 1746 in Chilmark, daughter of
Emmanuel Hilliard and Elizabeth Parkhurst. Five children.

Generation 5: John Mayhew, born 1676 in Chilmark, died 3 March 1736 in
Chilmark; married on 27 November 1700 in Chilmark to Mehitable Higgins,
daughter of Owen Higgins and Seaborn Tew. Seven children.

Generation 6: John Mayhew, born 1701 died on 16 January 1790; married on 29
October 1730 in Falmouth, Massachusetts to Ruth Davis, born 5 July 1705 in
Falmouth, died 16 Jan 1790 in Chilmark, daughter of Benjamin Davis and Mary
Robinson (a descendant of Reverend John Robinson of the Pilgrims). Five children.

Generation 7: Mary Mayhew, born 22 May 1734 on Martha's Vineyard, died in
Nova Scotia; married Caleb Rand, born 10 January 1730 in Charlestown,
Massachusetts, died 25 September 1776 in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, son of Caleb
Rand and Katherine Kettell. Eleven Children.

Generation 3:
Hannah, born 15 June 1635 and died 7 February 1723 in Edgartown on
Martha’s Vineyard; married on 23 September 1657 in Edgartown to Thomas Daggett
as his third wife. She had eleven
children.

Generation 4: Jedediah Mayhew, born 1656 and died 6 January 1736 in Edgartown; married Benjamin Smith, son of John Smith and Susannah Hinckley. He was born 7 January 1658 and died 4 July 1720. Eight children.

Generation 5: Jedediah Smith m. Reverend Samuel Osborn, yet he had an illegitimate son by Mercy Norton. This child is my 8th great grandfather, Samuel Osborn, Jr., the husband of Keziah Butler (see generation 6 above in Line B) Yes, this is quite a story- the minister's illegitimate child, but I'm saving it for another blog post!

6 comments:

I think the females named Jedidiah are interesting. I have a Jedidiah Tarbox in my line and a few female Jedidiah cousins - Jedidiah Churchill and Jedidiah Harlow. And now Jedidiah Smith - my first cousin, 9X removed. I have two female Ebenezers too. Ebenezer Stevens is in my direct line and it one book said her father really wanted a son. The other is a cousin, Ebenezer Emery. No direct connection to this ancestor at this time but connected by marriage with the Smith/Hinckley lines.

Look at that -- the first missionary to the Indians of New England. There are a number of missionaries among my ancestors, but not to the Indians. I am impressed that the Elder Mayhew and the grandson carried out his ministries after Rev. Thomas Mayhew was lost at sea. (In my family we have a signer of the Declaration of Independence who was lost at sea shortly after 1776.) It is also an incredibly powerful statement that they put up this stone in 1901 -- that in itself is a long time to remember someone.

Copyright

You may NOT use the contents of this site for commercial purposes without explicit permission from the author and blog owner. Commercial purposes includes blogs with ads and income generating features, and/or blogs or sites using feed content as a replacement for original content. Full content usage is not permitted.

My Family Tree Information

Google+ Followers

Followers

Networked Blogs

About Me

Author of the Nutfield Genealogy blog and occasional genealogy speaker. My family research includes Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, with a smattering of Nova Scotia. Please contact me if you see your ancestors on this blog. I would love to share information. I am the former secretary of the New Hampshire Mayflower Society, former President of the Londonderry Historical Society, member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Mass. Society of Genealogists, The National Genealogical Society, and the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists.